The present invention relates to RFID labels, and more particularly to RFID labels in which the RFID device can be easily removed.
Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags have been used for years to track everything from cows and railroad cars to airline baggage and highway tolls. As RFID tags affordability increases some companies are choosing to attach them to their products. Some applications of RFID tags include medication tracking, anti-theft efforts, enhanced inventory tracking, and anti-counterfeiting efforts. For example, in some supermarkets consumer items may have RFID tags attached which can automatically communicate with an RFID reader to help reduce the lengthy check-out process. Unfortunately, some customers are concerned about their privacy because any RFID reader within range, not just the supermarket RFID reader, can access the RFID tags.
Some consumers believe their privacy will be invaded by unauthorized access to confidential information stored in an item's RFID tag. In some cases, an item's RFID tag is uniquely linked with the purchaser's credit card upon completion of a transaction. Some consumers feel the creation of a link between the item and buyer invades the buyer's privacy.
Confidentiality is an especially big concern to pharmaceutical customers. Some pharmaceutical labels are removable so a customer can remove confidential information on the label before discarding the pharmaceutical item into the garbage where it could be viewed by anyone. Unfortunately, this solution fails with RFID tags because they can be read from a distance without knowledge or consent by anyone with an RFID reader. While a pharmaceutical customer has some control over access to confidential information on a label by virtue of having control over the physical pharmaceutical item itself, the same is not true of an RFID labeled pharmaceutical item. Hence, once a customer purchases an item with an RFID tag, limiting unauthorized access to the RFID tag becomes problematic. Some customers may attempt to remove the RFID tag at the time of purchase, however this solution is unsatisfactory because removing the RFID tag may damage the label or underlying goods.